Cowboy Caviar

My friend Pam is a great source for recipes. She's always trying new things and is generous in sharing her recipes with friends. She made German Chocolate Cake (that has become the signature cake of my friend Sue), Cool & Minty Summer Salad with Peaches, Barbecued Beer Can Chicken, Meatloaf with Barbecue Sauce--recipes that have been shared on FOODjimoto.com. This delicious dip, Cowboy Caviar, is also a recipe of Pam's that she makes for her football parties. It's easy to make and always a hit with the football-watching, or any, crowd.

I think the ingredients can vary depending upon what you like and what you have on hand.

Cowboy Caviar

Ingredients:

1 can black beans, drained & rinsed

1 can black-eyed peas, drained & rinsed

1 1/2 cups corn (or 1 can, drained & rinsed)

2 cups diced sweet onion

2 cups diced tomatoes

1 bunch chopped cilantro

1 diced red pepper

1 minced jalapeño pepper

3 diced avocados

juice of one lemon

1/4 teaspoon cumin

1/4 cup olive oil

1/4 cup orange muscat champagne vinegar

While gathering the ingredients, I forgot to add the jalapeño, corn, olive oil and orange muscat champagne vinegar for the photo. Oh! And the cumin, too.

 I like it when the peel of the avocado comes off in one piece, that's when I think avocados are perfectly ripe.

Put all ingredients in a large bowl and add salt and pepper to taste.

I like the olive oil and orange muscat champagne vinegar dressing--I think it gives the dip a bright taste. You can use red wine vinegar instead, or simply use Italian salad dressing, that works well too.

Toss all ingredients gently until well-combined. Taste and adjust seasoning.

This dip is fresh and hearty in a light way, and makes a great appetizer for tailgate parties.

Itadakimasu!

***

Ideally, since the Cowboy Caviar is another recipe I got from Pam, I would have some new photos and news about her family to share. But I don't today, so I'll share something about the Fujimotos.

Last month, we spent the weekend at the Dinkey Creek Campground again--you might remember my Grilled Salmon with Avocado-Tomato Relish post.

This is last year's photo--we actually made this again this year, it was so good.

 This year, our visitor from Japan, Ayako, came camping with us.

 We hiked to the McKinley Grove, to see the big sequoias.

I think the newlyweds are adorable.

 We were so happy Rachel, Mitchell and Karen could join us this year.

Mitchell always finds interesting things for us to do, like this hike.

It's so much fun having the whole family together!

 Early morning snuggles with Rachel around the campfire are the best!
She's a new walker and got a little scab under her nose from doing a face-plant a few days earlier.

 You can get a good 'Joker' smile by playing with a paper cup at the campsite.

 Rachel loves Dixie!

Eugene, Isamu and Maria were able to join us, too!
You may remember when Isamu was born on my Gail's Stew post.

"Yanna go camping!"

***

Cowboy Caviar

Ingredients:

1 can black beans, drained & rinsed

1 can black-eyed peas, drained & rinsed

1 1/2 cups corn (or 1 can, drained & rinsed)

2 cups diced sweet onion

2 cups diced tomatoes

1 bunch chopped cilantro

1 diced red pepper

1 minced jalapeño pepper

3 diced avocados

juice of one lemon

1/4 teaspoon cumin

1/4 cup olive oil

1/4 cup orange muscat champagne vinegar

Put all ingredients in a large bowl and mix gently until well-combined. Taste and adjust seasonings. Chill until ready to serve.

Spinach Cups

I saw a photo of Joelen's Spanakopita Bites from her blog What's Cookin' Chicago and had to make them.

They are delicious!

I can't remember using phyllo dough before, this is my first time. Hard to believe, I know!

Spanakopita Cups

adapted from Spanakopita Bites from Joelen's What's Cookin' Chicago blog

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

1 small onion, chopped

3 green onions, chopped

10 oz. package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry

1 can sliced water chestnuts, cut into sticks

8 oz. mushrooms, sliced

2 cups grated mozzarell cheese

1 cup crumbled queso fresco

2 eggs, lightly beaten

salt and pepper to taste

1 pound frozen phyllo, thawed

8 tablespoons (1 stick) butter, melted

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

Preheat oven to 375ºF.

Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a medium skillet over medium heat. Add white and green onion and sliced mushrooms; cook until softened, 3 to 4 minutes.

Mix thawed and squeezed spinach, cheeses, water chestnuts and eggs in a medium-sized bowl. Add onions and mushrooms, season with salt and pepper. Cover and refrigerate until ready to use.

Combine 1 stick melted butter and 2 tablespoons vegetable oil in a separate bowl to be used to brush on phyllo dough.

I cut the phyllo dough into squares first and brushed them as I put them into the cupcake tins, but the next time I make these, I'm going to work with full sheets, brushing them with the butter mixture first, then cutting them afterwards.

Or I just might try using an olive oil or buttery spray, that would make it go really fast.

Cover the phyllo dough with a clean, damp kitchen towel to keep them from drying out while you're working.

Prepare the cupcake tins by brushing butter in each well. Take 2 squares of phyllo dough, brush the top layer with butter, repeat twice so you have 6 layers, and push them into a cupcake well. Repeat until all are filled.

Spoon filling into cups.

Bake in 375ºF oven for 15 minutes or until golden brown.

One package of phyllo dough used two batches of the filling mixture.

My family enjoyed the Spanakopita Cups--I shared them with my parents, my mother-in-law, my son took some home, as well as my daughter's friend who came for lunch. 

I made a lot.

I will be making these again, soon!

Itadakimasu!

***

Remember my daughter's friend Katt?

She brought the In-'N-Out double-double to Karen in the hospital the day she delivered Rachel.

She now lives by me!

Katt and Will came over the other day for a visit.

Katt is so much fun! 

She's chatty. I love chatty.

She's witty, too, we laughed all afternoon!

Will is adorable.

Of course she had to take a photo with Vaughn's Emmy.

After lunch we took Will through the back gate to the park.

He was so excited, he ran to the playground!

See? He's adorable.

Will loved the shovel digger.

I'm telling you, he's adorable.

We got so hot at the park--Will worked up a sweat with the shovel digger--we came home and Will jumped in the pool.

Then we came in and all had some watermelon granita.

This one is my favorite.

Or maybe the one above on the upper left when Will's holding the spoon with his pinky out.

Or maybe the surprised look.

He's adorable.

Too soon it was time for Will and Katt to go home.

Not only is Will adorable, his momma is too!

Thank you, Katt and Will for coming to visit us, and brightening our day with joy and laughter. 

I'm sure we'll see you again soon!

***

Spanakopita Cups

adapted from Spanakopita Bites from Joelen's What's Cookin' Chicago blog

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

1 small onion, chopped

3 green onions, chopped

10 oz. package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry

1 can sliced water chestnuts, cut into sticks

8 oz. mushrooms, sliced

2 cups grated mozzarell cheese

1 cup crumbled queso fresco

2 eggs, lightly beaten

salt and pepper to taste

1 pound frozen phyllo, thawed

8 tablespoons (1 stick) butter, melted

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

Preheat oven to 375ºF.

Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a medium skillet over medium heat. Add white and green onion and sliced mushrooms; cook until softened, 3 to 4 minutes.

Mix thawed and squeezed spinach, cheeses, water chestnuts and eggs in a medium-sized bowl. Add onions and mushrooms, season with salt and pepper. Cover and refrigerate until ready to use.

Combine 1 stick melted butter and 2 tablespoons vegetable oil in a separate bowl to be used to brush on phyllo dough.

Prepare the cupcake tins by brushing butter in each well. Take 2 squares of phyllo dough, brush the top layer with butter, repeat twice so you have 6 layers, and push them into a cupcake well. Repeat until all are filled.

Spoon filling into cups.

Bake in 375ºF oven for 15 minutes or until golden brown.

Coco's Salsa

My friend Coco makes the BEST salsa. Whenever there is a Godinez family gathering, everyone asks Coco to make salsa. She taught me how to make it several years ago--she said the secret is to roast the tomatoes and chiles--she does it in a foil-lined cast iron skillet on the stove until blackened, blends them together, then adds the chopped green onions and cilantro right before serving.

 When I was making salsa for a party the other day, I had the idea to do the roasting under the broiler to save time--I only have an 8 inch skillet--with great results.  This way the roasting was done in less than half the time!

Coco's Salsa

Ingredients:

2 lbs. fresh tomatoes
2 to 3 jalapeño peppers
1 bunch green onions, thinly sliced
1 bunch cilantro, chopped
juice of 1 small lemon
salt and pepper to taste

my optional ingredients:

1 large sweet onion
about 10 cloves mashed roasted garlic or 1 clove raw, minced
juice of 2 to 3 small limes
 diced avocados
roasted fresh corn, kernels cut from the cob--or frozen or canned corn

Put the tomatoes,  jalapeno peppers, sliced onion and cloves of garlic (if you are using them) in a roasting pan or cookie sheet with sides--so the juice from the tomatoes won't spill all over your oven. You can put the tomatoes in whole--when Coco roasts them in the skillet, they're whole tomatoes. I lightly drizzled some olive oil on the onion slices, jalapenos and garlic, then brushed them to evenly distribute the oil.

As you can see, I've added a lot of optional ingredients to this salsa.

Put the oven on broil at 500 ºF and set the rack to the highest setting. Roast for 5 minutes or until browned.

After 5 minutes in the broiler, the chiles & garlic were browned, but the onions and tomatoes could have gone a couple of minutes longer.

Turn the vegetables over and broil the other sides. You can leave them in a little longer than this for more flavor. Coco's salsa has more of the charred bits in it than mine.

 You can put the anemic ones in a little longer until they get some color.

Put the vegetables into a blender vessel.

I'm using a high-speed Vita Mix blender, pulse it so the vegetables are still a little chunky--it will take less than a minute.

 Pour into a large bowl. The salsa will get redder after the mixture settles for several minutes. Sometimes I might add a little tomato sauce to enhance the color--but you won't need it if you use really ripe tomatoes.

Juice 1 small lemon (and 2 to 3 small limes, optional) and add to the mixture.

 

Thinly slice 1 bunch of green onions and 1 bunch of cilantro and add them to the bowl before serving. Salt and pepper to taste.

I had been making salsa in the blender for years but never could get the taste quite right.  I'm so thankful for Coco sharing her technique, now it comes out good every time!

Knowing how to make good salsa is important around our house.

I think it's fun to add some diced avocados, roasted corn kernels, diced jalapenos (for those that like more heat), lime wedges and maybe some black beans on the side--makes for a festive dip. Serve with your favorite chips or veggies. Coco says the home-style chips from the Mexican market are the best.

Itadakimasu!



***

Meet my friend Coco.

Coco always looks great--stylishly and neatly dressed, perfect make-up, the right accessories, and I love her hair. It's naturally curly, but she likes to wear it straight. I wish I had her hair--I love curly hair.

 I think the photo above might be my favorite picture of her--I think it captures her essence.

Here she is with her daughter Natalie.

 And this is Coco's husband, Chuck. He's a sweetheart.

That's Chuck Jr. on the right. The whole family is a lot of fun. The Chucks love fishing and the girls love shopping. They all love animals--I especially love their two Labrador retrievers.

Thank you, Coco, for being a great friend--and for teaching me how to make salsa!


***

 

Coco's Salsa


Makes about 6 cups
 
Ingredients:

2 lbs. fresh tomatoes
2 to 3 jalapeño peppers
1 bunch green onions, thinly sliced
1 bunch cilantro, chopped
juice of 1 small lemon
salt and pepper to taste



my optional ingredients:

juice of 2 to 3 small limes

1 large sweet onion
about 10 cloves mashed roasted garlic or 1 clove raw, minced
 diced avocados
roasted fresh corn, kernels cut from the cob--or frozen or canned corn

Roast the tomatoes,  jalapeños, (optional onion slices, and garlic if you are using them) in the broiler at 500 degrees for 5 minutes on each side or until browned. The vegetables can also be roasted on the stove in a cast iron skillet over medium-high heat.

Put the roasted vegetables into a blender or food processor and pulse until mixture is blended but still coarse, about 30 seconds or so, for a high-speed blender. Transfer to a large bowl.

Add the juice of 1 small lemon, thinly sliced green onions and chopped cilantro. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Mix well. Taste and adjust seasonings.

Add optional ingredients if desired. Serve with Mexican home-style chips, your favorite chips or veggies.